We all ate the same thing for dinner on Tuesday night. I know. Cue the trumpets.
I’ll step back a minute. This is a rare, rare thing in our house. It’s an incredibly long and boring story, related to the late hour in which we get home and the even later hour that Erin returns. Sufficed it to say and much to my bruised mom ego, many nights our dinners revolve around Trader Joe’s soy chicken nuggets or scrambled eggs or some kind of “healthy” frozen stir fry bag heated up and served over (ideally) brown rice (and no, the kids don’t touch that with a ten foot pole, they’re scrambled eggs/soy nuggets all the way).
I’d love to be the mom that makes the nightly homemade, whole grain fill-in-the blank, but I’m not. We’ve started trying to make whole wheat pasta and brown rice and quinoa in the refrigerator to make mix or match dinners but it’s not been met with tons of enthusiasm. And most nights it’s an accomplishment if both kids are even sitting down at the same time. Am I the only one with children who stand in front of an open refrigerator door like it’s a Las Vegas buffet?
And don't even get me started on how famished they are when I pick them up at daycare/aftercare. They aren't even strapped into their carseats before the cacophony of pleas for "puffs" (Pirate Booty), or grapes or apples or juice begins (all of this is leftover in their lunch boxes). Seriously, do they starve the children all day? I'm beginning to think they do. And I wonder why they often barely touch their dinners, but that's a whole other post.
The unexpected success was Burrito Night. Erin brought home a surprisingly scrumptious, ready-made pico de gallo from a bodega in SoHo (which she and I inhaled). I put small bowls of the “ingredients” out: black beans, cheese, brown rice and presented each child with a whole wheat tortilla. They were able to add their own ingredients and Erin and I helped with the actual burrito assembly.
They LOVED it. And Ellie only spilled half of her beans on the floor (she hasn’t quite mastered the Burrito Hold yet). I’m not going to get too proud of myself here since I know how kids are and the next time I attempt this I’m sure they’ll look at me like I just served them Nails On Fire. But hey, Tuesday night was fun.
2 comments:
that's awesome. burritos are fun. and healthy!
as for the hold -- I make Abby's into a quesadilla. Put the stuff in one tortilla, fold in half, then cook it in either a frying pan, George Forman grill, or microwave. Cut into wedges. She can handle it better, plus the cheese melts and holds the other stuff in, kinda.
You mean there is hope that some day, we will all sit and eat the same food w/out me running around making 2 different meals? So far this is only successful with cheese pizza - not exactly the whole grain, veggie packed, gourmet extravaganza I imagined myself serving my beloved family...now that makes me teary (along with a million other things M does daily - including putting her chubby little hand on my cheek!)
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